The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not yet agreed on a firm timeline for general and regional elections and while it continues to examine whether the polls can be held before year-end, the commission has indicated that costs would go up, Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence says.
“Today we were assured by [GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh] and [the GECOM] commissioners that no timeline has been set and that they are working to see whether they will be able to hold elections this year, given the time-table which they have and the statutory requirements which they will ensure that they abide by,” Lawrence told reporters following a two-hour meeting between a government delegation and the commission. The minister led the delegation to the meeting.
GECOM’s Secretariat had last week presented to the commissioners a draft schedule of timelines which sets the earliest date for general and regional elections as March 2020. On Thursday, opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that Singh had stated during a meeting on Tuesday that GECOM was working towards general elections before the end of the year.
